Albrecht Kossel and the nucleobases – a review of his life and work

Albrecht Kossel (1853-1927) is associated with the discovery of the nucleobases adenine, guanine, thymine and cytosine, whose sequence in DNA forms genetic information. In 1910, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work, which was foundational for biochemisry and the fields of nuclear biology. Kossel, who was editor of the predecessor of Biological Chemistry from 1895 to 1927, is hardly known today, either in Germany or among experts. The following is a tribute to his life and work on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his death.